Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_00.gif)
Monday - October 06, 2008
From: Arvada, CO
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Trees
Title: Viability of Cupressus macrocarpa in Arvada, Colorado
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Can I plant lemon cypress in Arvada CO, zone 5, as landscaping plant? Can't find zone information.ANSWER:
The Lemon Cypress is a cultivar called Goldcrest, or Golden Crest, of Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey cypress). You can read more about the tree from Plants for a Future, Floridata.com and from the Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Here are some intructions for outdoor care from ShootGardening and you can find care instructions for indoor Cupressus macrocarpa at indoor-plant-care.com and from the TopiaryShop. It is a native of California and tremendously susceptible to a canker that kills the tree, especially if it is planted away from cool, coastal breezes.
From the Plants for a Future website, above, we finally found the hardiness zone for this tree. It is only hardy to Zone 8, so it's doubtful it would have a chance in Zone 5. Furthermore, some of the references we saw said it was not recommended for planting, period, probably because it does have problems away from its natural habitat. It occurs naturally only in two groves in Monterey Bay on the central coast of California, and is nearly extinct in the wild. It is, however, being widely grown in warm temperate and subtropical regions worldwide. We don't much think that includes Arvada, Colorado.
More Trees Questions
Trees to hide telephone poles and wires
September 28, 2009 - I am looking for trees to plant between my house and the street to hide telephone poles and wires. My top priority is to add strong, gold color in the fall. Spring flowers would be a plus. Because ...
view the full question and answer
Evergreen plants for a windbreak
June 13, 2008 - Our church has need to plant a windbreak. We would like fast growing native plants, preferably evergreen or really early 'leafers' to protect us from our windy season beginning in mid/late February....
view the full question and answer
Sprouts from Sabal palmetto in Charleston SC
July 23, 2010 - I live in SC and have several palm trees (our state tree and symbol). The trees are wonderful, but my situation concerns the many, many sprouts that appear in the flower beds around the trees? Is the...
view the full question and answer
Grafting different colors of Tecoma from Casa Grand AZ
April 01, 2014 - Is it possible to graft different colors of tecoma and if yes, is the process same as process for grafting roses?
view the full question and answer
Trees for traffic buffer in Portland OR
September 20, 2010 - Hi, saw the question about small space plants. On this topic, our street in Portland OR is looking for a fast growing, 20-30 ft tree that can go in a 12" wide parking strip along our road (we have ma...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |